The UK's top domestic security service MI5 missed a significant opportunity to take action that might have prevented a deadly suicide bombing in Manchester, a public inquiry has found.
In the final report of the inquiry, chairman Sir John Saunders said it was "not possible" to conclusively say whether any different action would have prevented the explosion, but there was a "significant missed opportunity to take action that might have prevented the attack".
The report pointed to two key pieces of intelligence that MI5 failed to pass on to counter-terrorism police, and a failure by the security service to act swiftly enough.
The bomber, 22-year-old Salman Abedi, had arrived in Manchester from Libya four days before the attack.
He constructed the bomb in the UK, and the report found that if Abedi had been followed by authorities, "the attack might have been prevented"
The inquiry found that a focus on the threat from Syria at the time meant security services had "underestimated" the risk presented by returning travellers from Libya, like Abedi, though it would have been "impractical" to screen every traveller.
The chairman also found that Abedi should have been referred to the Prevent scheme, which aims to stop people becoming terrorists.
Sir John said Abedi had been radicalised by his childhood in Libya during the civil war, influenced by his father who held "extremist views".
Abedi was considered for the program, he said, but the referral was not pursued.
The younger brother of the bomber, Hashem, was jailed for 55 years in 2020, for encouraging and helping him.
A third, elder brother, Ismail, was in July convicted in absentia, having fled Britain.
Previous reports from the inquiry have concluded there were serious shortcomings and mistakes made in the security at the venue.
It has also been found that one of those killed would probably have survived if the response by the emergency services had not been so flawed.
"So many people were paid that night to protect these kids and failed," Caroline Curry, mother of one of the victims said following the release of the report.
"From top to bottom — MI5 to the associates of the attacker. We will always believe that you played a part in the murder of our children."
Richard Scorer, a lawyer representing 11 of the bereaved families, said the report was a "devastating conclusion for us".
"It is now very clear that there was a failure to properly assess key intelligence about Salman Abedi; a failure to put it into proper context, and — most catastrophic of all — a delay in acting on it," Mr Scorer said.
"The failures exposed in this report are unacceptable."
MI5 Director General Ken McCallum issued a statement in response to the report, saying he was "profoundly sorry that MI5 did not prevent the attack".
On the findings that intelligence about the plot was missed, Mr McCallum said "I deeply regret that such intelligence was not obtained."
"Gathering intelligence is difficult, but had we managed to seize the slim chance we had, those impacted might not have had experienced such appalling loss and trauma."
ABC/ Wires
